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Kanye West has opened up about his relationship with the paparazzi, revealing his father once worked as a celebrity snapper and the rapper often counts on photographers to help him with everyday …

Kanye West At the 2014 Cannes Lions

Kanye West(Photo by Didier Baverel/WireImage)

Kanye West has opened up about his relationship with the paparazzi, revealing his father once worked as a celebrity snapper and the rapper often counts on photographers to help him with everyday tasks.

He reportedly made the admission during a deposition as part of a legal battle with photographer Daniel Ramos, who is suing the star over a scuffle at Los Angeles International Airport last year.

During his testimony, obtained by Dailymail.co.uk, West insists he has a special connection to the paparazzi because his father Ray West, who was a photojournalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was once one of them.

He says, “My father was a paparazzo himself. My father was a medical illustrator, a Black Panther, a Christian marriage counselor. My mother was the first black chair of the English department in Chicago State. They didn’t raise me to be out here wrestling with random paparazzi in front of LAX.”

West goes on to insist he trusts some snappers enough to get in a car with them, and they often help him out with parking and avoiding traffic tickets.

He adds, “Sometimes I get in the car with the paparazzi. Paparazzi help me to park. The paparazzi watch my car and makes sure that cops don’t give me tickets (sic). There are some nice guys out here trying to just feed their family.”

The “Stronger” hit maker also reveals he was in an emotional state at the time of the bust-up with Ramos as he had just found out his grandfather was seriously ill.

West was convicted of battery for attacking Ramos, but insists he did not mean to hurt the snapper. He was sentenced to two years of probation, anger management sessions, and 250 hours of community service.

Kanye West found himself in a dispute with British dance music veteran Aphex Twin after the DJ accused the rapper of using a song sample without permission.

West used a portion of Aphex Twin’s track “Avril 14th” in a song called “Blame Game” from hit album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

The British star, real name Richard James, has now revealed the sample prompted a dispute with West as he had to fight the rapper to gain recognition for his work.

He tells Pitchfork.com, “Is it a sample? I actually don’t know what it ended up being in the end, I’m so slack. I know that he tried to f— rip me off and claim that he’d written it, and they tried to get away with not paying. I was really helpful, and when they first sent it to me, I was like, ‘Oh, I can re-do that for you, if you like,’ because they’d sampled it really badly and time-stretched it. … I was like, ‘I’ll just replay it for you at that speed if you want.’ And they totally didn’t even say ‘hello’ or ‘thanks,’ they just replied with, ‘It’s not yours, it’s ours, and we’re not even asking you any more.'”

Kanye West branded himself “the smartest celebrity” and ranted about “discrimination” against his fellow stars during a heated deposition as part of a legal battle with a photographer. The hip-hop …

Kanye West At the 2014 Cannes Lions

Kanye West(Photo by Didier Baverel/WireImage)

Kanye West branded himself “the smartest celebrity” and ranted about “discrimination” against his fellow stars during a heated deposition as part of a legal battle with a photographer.

The hip-hop star was convicted of misdemeanor battery stemming from a clash with snapper Daniel Ramos at Los Angeles International Airport in July, 2013, and he was ordered to serve 250 hours of community service and attend anger management classes.

Ramos is now pursuing a civil action against West, and the “Stronger” hit maker recently sat for a deposition as part of the ongoing case.

He went on to compare the problems facing modern celebrities to the persecution of African-Americans during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

He ranted, “I mean in the ’60s people used to hold up ‘Die N—’ signs when my parents were in the sit-ins. … I equate it (being famous) to discrimination. I equate it to inequalities. … We, as a group of minorities here in L.A., as celebrities have to ban together (sic) to influence guys like this – guys trying to take the picture, guys trying to get the big win, guys trying to get the check.”

West previously addressed similar issues during his lengthy wedding speech in Italy in May.

Kanye West used his wedding speech to draw parallels between the troubles faced by modern-day celebrities and the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. The rapper married reality TV star Kim Kardashian …

Kanye West At the 2014 Cannes Lions

Kanye West(Photo by Didier Baverel/WireImage)

Kanye West used his wedding speech to draw parallels between the troubles faced by modern-day celebrities and the fight for civil rights in the 1960s.

The rapper married reality TV star Kim Kardashian in Florence, Italy, in May, and he has now revealed he turned his wedding toast into an impassioned plea for the rights of the famous.

West compared the issues facing his family, including being photographed regularly and appearing in gossip columns, to the discrimination against black citizens in America in the early 20th century and the civil rights fight throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

The “Stronger” hit maker tells GQ magazine, “What I talked about in it (my wedding speech) was the idea of celebrity, and celebrities being treated like blacks were in the ’60s, having no rights, and the fact that people can slander your name. I said that in the toast. And I had to say this in a position where I, from the art world, am marrying Kim. And how we’re going to fight to raise the respect level for celebrities so that my daughter can live a more normal life. She didn’t choose to be a celebrity. But she is. So I’m going to fight to make sure she has a better life.”

West went on to insist mocking stars is also a form of discrimination and he is rallying against it, adding, “I’m fighting (for my rights) with the way I line my words up together and the way I place a sweater on top of a T-shirt. … People know I’m smart. And people know that, whether it’s ‘SNL’ or Jimmy Kimmel (U.S. TV show), it’s a trend to take the piss out of celebrity – just as much of a trend as wearing a grey hoodie or driving a Prius.”

Actress Stacey Dash has criticized Kanye West for comparing paparazzi attention to sexual assault, insisting the rapper should spend time in jail to “know what rape is.” The “Clueless” star, who …

Premiere Of Lionsgate Films' "America" - Arrivals

Stacey Dash(Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images)

Actress Stacey Dash has criticized Kanye West for comparing paparazzi attention to sexual assault, insisting the rapper should spend time in jail to “know what rape is.”

The “Clueless” star, who played West’s girlfriend in the music video for his song “All Falls Down,” recently joined Fox News Network as a regular contributor, and the hip-hop star’s controversial comments were discussed during her TV appearance on Tuesday.

West is said to have ranted about celebrity snappers during a gig in Britain over the weekend, with multiple concertgoers reporting that he compared facing the paparazzi on the streets to being “raped.”

Dash waded into the debate over his comments, and slammed West for misunderstanding such a serious subject, saying, “For Kanye to say, ‘rape,’ maybe he needs to spend some time on (New York prison) Rikers Island. … You know, go to Rikers for a little while. And then he’ll know what rape is. I don’t get celebrities not understanding that the paparazzi are doing their job.”

Kanye West has moved to clear up reports suggesting he is feuding with Annie Leibovitz after the fashion photographer pulled out of plans to shoot the rapper’s official wedding photos with Kim …

Kim Kardashian Sighting In Paris

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West(Photo by Marc Piasecki/GC Images)

Kanye West has moved to clear up reports suggesting he is feuding with Annie Leibovitz after the fashion photographer pulled out of plans to shoot the rapper’s official wedding photos with Kim Kardashian.

West appeared to take aim at Leibovitz while speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity conference in France on Tuesday after revealing she had cancelled on the couple on the eve of its big day in Italy last month.

A representative for the photographer subsequently insisted Leibovitz had never been confirmed for the gig, although she was “disappointed it didn’t happen.”

2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter - Arrivals

Annie Leibovitz. (Photo by Mark Sullivan/WireImage)

Now the pair has issued a lengthy joint statement to news outlets to silence any suggestion of a fall out.

In the press release, a spokesperson for West claims his comments have been “taken out of context and sensationalized,” adding, “Although Kanye expressed frustration that he was not able to collaborate with Annie Leibovitz at his recent wedding, he is not assigning blame, and is not accusing Annie in any way.

“Kanye and Annie’s representatives were in negotiations for weeks that were not completed by the time of the wedding.”

The statement continued, “Annie Leibovitz – the legendary photographer responsible for Kim and Kanye’s recent Vogue cover – is not known to shoot weddings. But Kanye West dreams big. He loves and respects Annie as a true artist and wanted to bring her eye for beauty to the imagery of the event.”

Rapper Kanye West says that famed photographer Annie Leibovitz pulled out as the official wedding photographer right before his European nuptials to Kim Kardashian. The stars, who had worked with …

Rapper Kanye West says that famed photographer Annie Leibovitz pulled out as the official wedding photographer right before his European nuptials to Kim Kardashian.

The stars, who had worked with Leibovitz for their recent Vogue magazine cover, hired the fashion photographer to work her magic on their post-ceremony photos in Florence, Italy, last month, but the celebrity couple had to craft their own perfect photo before they exchanged vows.

They managed to draft in a last-minute replacement, but West admits the famous photo of the newlyweds kissing in front of a wall of roses wasn’t as picture-perfect as it appeared – and the couple actually spent four days of its honeymoon cleaning up the snap before sharing it with the world on Instagram.com.

Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity conference in France on Tuesday, West revealed, “Let me tell you something about that kiss photo that my girl put up… This was pissing my girl off during the honeymoon, she was exhausted because we worked on the photo so much because Annie Leibovitz pulled out right before the wedding. I think that she was, like, scared of the idea of celebrity.

“Because Annie pulled out, I was like, ‘OK, I still want my wedding photos to look like Annie Leibovitz (shot them),’ and we sat there and worked on that photo for, like, four days because the flowers were off-color.

“Can you imagine telling someone who wants to just Instagram a photo, who’s the number one person on Instagram, ‘We need to work on the color of the flower wall…?'”

But West admits their efforts paid off as the picture became the most-liked image ever on Instagram, boasting almost two million ‘likes’ and more than 35,000 comments.

He continued, “The fact the number one most-liked photo (on Instagram) has a kind of aesthetic was a win for what the mission is, which is raising the palette.”

Rapper Kanye West celebrated a special Father’s Day, which doubled up as his daughter North’s first birthday. West spent the day with his new wife Kim Kardashian and their 12-month-old child in Los …

Rapper Kanye West celebrated a special Father’s Day, which doubled up as his daughter North’s first birthday.

West spent the day with his new wife Kim Kardashian and their 12-month-old child in Los Angeles, and decided to keep the celebrations to a minimum by watching a basketball game with his leading ladies by his side.

Kardashian took to Instagram.com to post a photograph of her hip-hop star husband asleep in their bed with his arm around baby North, who was also taking a nap.

She wrote, “This is what life is about! Our baby girl turned 1 today! We played so hard they passed out while we were watching the game!

“Happy Father’s Day to the best daddy in the world! The way you love our daughter and protect her makes me filled with so much love! #BestDayEver #Twins #HappyFathersDay #HappyBirthday.”

West’s double celebration came days after his set at Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Friday, marking his first return to the event since he was booed on the same stage in 2008.

Kanye West has sparked rumors he is feuding with Jay-Z after he dropped the rapper’s name from lyrics in his songs during a recent concert. The “Stronger” hit maker invited Jay-Z and wife Beyonce to …

2012 BET Awards - Show

Kanye West and Jay-Z(Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

Kanye West has sparked rumors he is feuding with Jay-Z after he dropped the rapper’s name from lyrics in his songs during a recent concert.

The “Stronger” hit maker invited Jay-Z and wife Beyonce to his wedding in Italy last month, but the superstar couple opted to spend the weekend in the Hamptons with their daughter, Blue Ivy, instead.

Now rumors are circulating the two may be feuding after West dropped Jay-Z’s name from several song lyrics during his performance at the X Games in Austin this past.

According to reports, West omitted the “99 Problems” hit maker from his track “Cold,” which normally reads, “Lucky I ain’t had Jay drop him from the team,” and references his new bride’s ex-husband Kris Humphries.

He then switched up the lyrics on “Blood on the Leaves,” in which he usually raps, “I don’t give a damn if you used to talk to Jay-Z/He ain’t with you, he with Beyonce, you need to stop actin’ lazy,” to just, “You need to stop actin’ crazy.” And he also reportedly left out his moniker on “Touch the Sky.”

Following the concert, a fan commented about the omissions, writing, “First time he (skipped Jay Z’s name), I (thought), ‘Ehh that’s odd, maybe he’s just letting the crowd finish it whatever.’ Then (Kanye) skipped his name again.. .. Definitely obvious and intentional.”

Meanwhile, Kanye’s new mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, has spoken out about Beyonce and Jay Z’s absence from the wedding, saying, “There was so much commotion and excitement, I never really gave that a second thought.

“If you had been there, you would have thought that was the last thing on anyone’s mind. (I) just assumed they were working.”